Post Hurricane Irma

I am glad to report that all our family members 

throughout the state are safe and faired VERY well.

Jim and Nereida had her during daylight hours.

This is the picture of his tree that fell on the neighbor's house.

Clif and I in Orlando had her in the middle of the night.

Hearing things hit your house, thumps, and howling winds

leave your imagination soaring.

It doesn't help either that your husband finds it thrilling to stand on the front porch and pop his head in occasionally, giving updates.

He may as well work as a news reporter.

Levi wanted to go out with him.  He didn't like being told no.

I think he thought if he put his boots on, I'd change my mind...not.

I made a safe place in the hallway because tornado warnings were issued constantly, this way we could quickly get into the closet if needed. Our weather forecasters were awesome, they would actually name intersections that were on track for one.

I resorted to wearing my earbuds and listening to the local news. 

I had instrumental piano/flute music playing on my laptop for 

Levi, and turned off the TV. 

Levi just thought we were camping out.

Our power stayed until 1:42 am.  That is when we were

receiving the northeast side of the storm next to the eye.

The eye did not pass over us.

I finally fell asleep about 2 am and up at 7.

Pre-hurricane tree that was thinned in May.

Post-hurricane tree.

A trip to the backyard showed us we'd get our workout.

 

This kind of flying debris is why we board our windows.

Look at the sod it peeled back.

If you saw the video of Levi outside before the hurricane, 

you will be able to compare what a beating our front tree took.

I am very grateful it didn't fall down!

But here is what that tree looks like now.

I figure next month, I'll call the tree company to

trim the trees so they can rebound and be healthy.

 

Levi was excited to be able to get out and play.

 

 

Later, I decided to take a walk around the neighborhood 

and take some pictures.

Our neighbor asked us to check on their house.

They stayed with the daughter.

Backyard was a mess, the house was fine.

The good news is no one had any structural damage.

A huge improvement from when Hurricane Charlie

came through in 2004.

I am glad God listened to the many prayers lifted up to Him.

He showed mercy on us.

And for that, we give Him thanks and praise!

 

I had originally prepared this post a week ago, however,

my hard drive crashed and I lost everything.

I am using Clif's laptop, and it is powered by a generator.

It is now Monday night, Sep 19.

We had our powered restored last Thursday afternoon.  Unfortunately, when I plugged in the refrigerator it sparked and set off an alarm on our stove.  Where the time usually displays read the words "bad line". Clif immediately turned off the breakers until he got his testers.  Upon testing the circuit breakers as well as the outlets in the house, it was apparent we had a problem.

Needless to say, we have been without power (outlets) since.

However, the good news is that we can run the air conditioning and the hot water heater. The better to have given the circumstances.  Duke Energy called Sunday evening to let us know there are still 5,000 customers without power in our area and the earliest they will most likely get to us is Friday.

Good thing Clif and I are campers.  We have adjusted!

Passing Time

We are having to get clever with an energetic 2 year old.

Melodramatic???

He is having a good time.

We are being entertained.

Awaiting Hurricane Irma

While we still have power, I thought I'd just post a few things.

We are fine.  We are prepared.

It is the waiting that gets the best of you because you have to find things to keep you busy, safe, and mind off of what is to come.

We are lucky, we have Levi to keep us occupied.

Never a dull moment with him!

Please continue your prayers as Stephen and Amber are

first responders and busy at work.

After completing the final yard cleanup, it was time to take pictures for documentation for insurance purposes should we need it.

Levi says, "I want my picture taken."

He poses by the oak tree we had thinned in May.

There were too many limbs hanging over our house.

He couldn't stop there.  He insisted Grandma take a picture 

of every pose as he circulated around the tree trunk. 

We are boarded up and ready.

Once everything was secured in the garage, 

both trucks were pulled up against the garage door

as a windbreak and the Impala put on the south side of them.

Clif put mulch bags by the door that usually has water 

protrusion with typical summer storms.  He also secured our gate.

The first breezes have started, but they are gentle. 

We decided to take advantage of the time before the rains come.

Today, tornado warnings are posted across our area until 

wee hours of the morning.

Some have been east of us in Brevard County.

I thought it best to clear out our hall closet so if needed

I can go in it with Levi.  He thinks it's a great play place.

The space is tiny, but it will do in a pinch.

I sent Jim a text thanking him for dragging me to the dance contests

when I was in High School.  The radio I won still works.  

It has been my link to civilization when power goes out.

Taking out the recycling, Clif was greeted by

a frog seeking shelter!

We appreciate the many, many prayers from family

and friends.  It is comforting to know so many people are storming 

heaven on our behalf.  I will post later after the storm has cleared and we have power back up.

Love to all, Trish 😅

Labor Day 2017

Being Clif and I both had off this Labor Day,

we decided to spend time with Levi.

Stephen had found this VW bus near a dumpster.

It wasn't working.  After investing $25 it has 

all the bells and whistles!

Levi says, "I want to ride my bus."

Boy does that take me back to my childhood days,

and vacations in our bus!

The headlights and tail lights work.

I was surprised how bright they are.

In the dark, they light up the sidewalk.

Stephen plugs in his music,

and it plays through the bus' speakers.

We also went to Sea Life at the Orlando Eye 

on International Drive.

The displays are set up to tour by oceans.

What is unique about this aquarium is that they have

aquariums setup in such a way so you can explore from

different angles.  Levi went behind this curved tank.

He was unsure of crawling through the tunnel 

to be able to see in the middle of the tank.

I went with him.  You don't realize you

are aging until you are crawling on your 

hands and knees!

The jellyfish tank was interactive in that

you could press buttons to change the colors.

They had circular tanks you could 

walk completely around.

He was mesmerized

by all the fish and sharks.

They had tanks with walk through tunnels.

I enjoyed those.  I didn't have to be on my knees.

And tunnels with fish all around you, including 

under your feet.

Tried as he might, he couldn't catch the shark.

He tried hard to pet the fish.

He eventually gained confidence to go in the crawl

tunnels by himself.

He says, "look, there's Dori and Nemo!"

Seahorses

Sharks

Sea Turtles

Starfish and Sea Anemones

They had touch tanks at the very end.

The water was COLD, and Levi 

needed coaxing to touch the animals.

This surprised me because he tried

so desperately to touch the animals through

the glass!

We had such a wonderful time with Levi.